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France
The French 'have the power of Chivalry. They replace the Americans. Suggestions and spoilers The French kingdom is suited at medium- to long-term warfare and booming. While they are not really a rush civ ''per se given that their units are all given towards having more hitpoints and speed, the economic and technological bonuses at France's fingertips make it more suited to a wait-and-see game. The abilities to build your first wonder and research your first government instantaneously can be used to France's advantage in picking your new strategy as quickly as possible. France's units all tend to have a speed bonus - they all have movement speed bonuses, and the last 2 tiers of the heavy cavalry line have boosted hitpoints, meaning that French knightly cavalry becomes exponentially powerful with each upgrade that you achieve. This means that hammer-and-anvil strikes are the main component of the French army: use your halberdiers to "fix" your enemies in place, then charge them from the rear and flanks. In the Imperial Era, its Royal Musketeers corps are a force to reckon with: their ability to run quickly to where they are needed means that they have a potential edge over cavalry and even killing archers, by getting foes into their field of fire before blasting away before enemy archers can cause further damage. While it also receives the halberdier heavy infantryman, the real power of its army however lies with its foot army: non-barracks units can create resources of their own so long as they're not lurking in taverns or barracks quarters. This means that France is a good faction to use in diplomacy games, where you can keep your infantry in reserve while you leach off resources to feed your allies in the fight. So while other players have economic bonuses 'built in', the French have to wisely pick their battles in order not to damage their economy. CtW guide France does not start off too well. While they are surrounded like the English across the Channel, the French just don't have the luxury of extra room to grow. Westwards, they are blocked off by the Spanish while the east is dominated by the Burgundians in the Alps and the Italians to the south. Your first duties as monarch might be to reinforce the Channel coast and then capture the east: the Iberians are too busy killing one another to really care about crossing the Pyrenees, while the Venetians will probably be more likely to be killing or be killed by the Burgundians and/or Hungarians. The pesky Flemings and Frisians have long stood up to your rule and thus it might be necessary to show them who is in charge. Lorraine, being the heartland of the old Carlovingian empire, has a sizeable pool of labour that should be used to supply your armies. Diplomacy-wise, France has one advantage against the English - they start off allied with Scotland, so any campaigns to bring the English Normans to heel might well work out in your favour. Additionally, France is also one of the Pope's right-hand men, meaning that you might yet be able to take out any of the smaller factions that might be excommunicated or attacked without the threat of interdict, such as Bohemia or Sicily. The best way to proceed in would be to gather sufficient tribute, capture Jerusalem, and then make vassal states out of the smaller Catholic factions of Europe, creating a mighty war machine for your eventual rampage into Asia. Remember, however, that killing off any Catholic faction other than the Papal States results in an interdict: you may only destroy factions that have destroyed co-religionists without inviting an interdict upon yourself. Of the many factions, there are several ones you should pay special attention to: Spain and Portugal are small, weak and impoverished, and would make excellent targets for vassalage. Further to the east in the Caucasus likes the small kingdom of Armenia, whose location makes it a prime target for vassalage as well. In fact, you should try to forge an alliance with Armenia as soon as possible because it is the only Christian power east of the Hellespont friendly enough to all other Christian fations. France is also one of five factions in the game capable of creating overseas colonies towards the end of the Castle Age. Colonies are a force to reckon with: they provide streams of tribute, and also supply additional rare resources. The French player may obtain an extra army as long as the number of colonies it controls is higher than 4. Faction summary *Ageing Process — France relies on a strong and highly advanced army. You must place an emphasis on getting to successive ages as fast as possible to maintain technological superiority of your infantry. *Chaaarge!!! — Given their speed, French cavalry are well suited for taking out archers. Use them as a flanking force against other cavalry units, and charge enemy archers and siege weapons head-on. The same goes for the Royal Musketeers: charge them into place, and then fire. *''Sitzkrieg'' — While it is true that French barracks units do have an edge, in particularly the halberdier guardsmen, they shouldn't be used in active service, as they are better off left to generate resources. The French infantry is better off as a reserve force supporting another ally's defence. Almost any faction can be improved further with this, but the best allies are the Papal States, with their costly unit lines. *Pick Your Poison — choose your battles carefully, and avoid them if possible. The French do not use reckless charges like the Chinese or Swedes, nor do they turtle recklessly (like the Papal States, Japan or Byzantium). They always seek to pick the right opportunity and then exploit it in the most stylish fashion possible. '''Settlements: '''Paris; Orleans; Rheims; Tours; Greater Quevilly; Poitiers; Calvados; Brest; Metz; Calais; Varennes; Evreux; Nîmes; Brussels; Strasbourg; Rocroi; Boulogne; Vendôme; Coutrai; Bordeaux; Nantes; Blois; Narbonne; Chartres; Bourges; Soissons; Pont-Audemer; Toulouse; Pont-L'Evêque; Lisieux; Harfleur; Honfleur; Fresnoy; Amiens; Cherbourg; Castillon; Lorient; Mont-Saint-Aignan; Angouleme; St Stephen's of Rouvray; Bayonne; Moulins; Artois; Aubusson '''Leaders: '''Francis, Hugh, Charles, Louis XII, Eleanor of Aquitane, Thibault de Blois, Robert the Pious, Phillipe Auguste, Étienne "La Hire" of Vignolles, John of Harcourt, Anna Vreizh '''Best age(s): All History France has its origins from the Gauls, a warlike tribe that came into conflict with the Romans as they expanded into Europe from the Caucasus and defeated by the same in 52 BCE. Although it took another ten years to quell them completely, the Gauls were absorbed into the Roman Empire that the Franks under Charlemagne inherited a Gallo-Roman character that pervades the modern nation of France to this day. Foundations of Roman culture in France "The Gauls" were actually the Roman name for the Celtic tribes that inhabited the areas now known as France. They moved into the area from east of the Rhine in 900 BCE and by 500 BCE established a distinct and uniform Gallic culture. They were also introduced to Greek culture through contact along the Mediterranean coast during this time. They eventually came into conflict with the Romans, and managed to sack Rome in 390 BCE. However, Rome managed to contain them as their warlike society often put them at odds with other Gallic tribes as much as they did with Rome. Eventually Imperial Rome conquered the area inhabited by the Gauls through the Gallic Wars (58 BCE to 41 BCE) and incorporated them into Roman provinces. In 48 CE, the Roman Emperor Claudius I began admitting Gallic nobles into the Roman senate. He encouraging the Gauls into Emperor-worship, and in turn incorporated Celtic pagan beliefs into the religions of Rome. The Dark Ages By the end of the 5th century, a new wave of Germanic tribes including the Vandals, Visigoths, Alamani, Burgundians and the Franks wrested control of Gaul from the Romans. One of the Frankish tribes, the Merovingians, however managed to unify the Franks and eventually conquered most of Gaul. This established what is now known as the Merovingian dynasty. After the adoption of Christianity, the Frankish Empire reached its zenith under the rule of Charlemagne (768 to 814). He established the Carolingian dynasty and formed what was called the Holy Roman Empire, after wars with the Saxons to the East, Saracens to the south across the sea, and the Moors in southern Spain. Unfortunately, Charlemagne's strong and wise rule, which saw the invention of lower-case letters to increase literacy, and the beginning of a jury system and responsible government did not last. His feuding descendents eventually broke the Empire apart. So by the middle of the 9th century the Holy Roman Empire was divided into several kingdoms; most notable were that of France and the various German Duchies. This was the birth of modern France Through the Middle Ages, France participated in the numerous Christian Crusades (from 1096 to 1291) against the Islamic empires in the Middle East. It also saw the establishment of the order of the Templar Knights in 1119. While these enterprises failed in the goal of taking control of the Holy lands from the Muslims, they did achieve a sense of worldliness in the minds of the European kingdoms. The Forge of War: Disunion and Unification Despite all these feats, however, France remained a disunited nation well into the 17th century, but the seeds for unification as a single nation, culminating in the centralising influences of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire, were not sown by the French themselves, but by the English. In the late Mediaeval period, France became embroiled in a series of regional and dynastic conflicts over a 116-year period known as the "Hundred Years' War" from 1337 to 1453. French forces were met with sounding defeats at the hands of the English at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, cementing English control over the north and west, then again at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. English claims to the French throne looked all but assured. Yet, in these dark moments, there were two events that were going to change it all — France was inspired by the patriotism of Joan of Arc, who lead the Dauphin and his army through a series of rapid victories, before being betrayed by jealous nobles to the English. The battle of Chastillon was the last battle fought on French soil in the war and the first major conflict involving widespread use of gunpowder artillery, and resulted in the French crown retaking almost all of the territories lost to the English. The then Dauphin was crowned King Charles VII of all France. This has instilled a sense of intense patriotism in France against foreign incursions since then, and in subsequent centuries would lay down the cornerstones of France's national identity and aspirations. References *One Dead Angel, [http://ron.heavengames.com/gameinfo/nations/france/france.shtml Rise of Nations: France — A Guide], Rise of Nations Heaven. Category:Factions Category:Spoiler Category:Catholics